The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing intelligent paging services. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automating the process of notifying people upon the sudden occurrence of an event.
People affected by the sudden occurrence of a particular event (such as an emergency situation), frequently have a need to inform others that the event has occurred. For example, a pregnant woman who suddenly enters labor may wish to notify her doctor, her husband, and/or other relatives. In another example, an employee may wish to inform a software technician, a supervisor, and other co-workers when a network computer system crashes.
Currently, people are xe2x80x9cmanuallyxe2x80x9d notified about the occurrence of events such as those described above. Manual notification may begin with an originating person making a telephone call, sending a page, or sending an electronic mail (e-mail) message to one or more other people. These telephone call, page, or e-mail recipients may then contact other people who should be informed of the occurrence of the event.
One of the drawbacks of the manual notification method is the amount of time required to sequentially inform each person of the emergency situation. Another drawback is that the originator must somehow quickly obtain (or remember) a list of people who should be notified and obtain (or remember) a telephone number, a pager number, or an e-mail address for each person. If a key person is unable to be reached through the first notification means, alternate notification means must also be available to the originator. The above notification activity places an additional burden on a person who is likely also required to handle the unexpected event.
One method for shifting the notification burden from the person involved in the unexpected event is known as The Companion Service(copyright), available from the Ameritech Corporation. The Companion Service(copyright) comprises a small transmitter, a receiver adapted to be connected to a telephone line, and a monitoring station. The transmitter may be worn around a customer""s neck or attached to the customer""s clothing. The transmitter includes one or more buttons which, when depressed, cause the transmitter to transmit a signal to the receiver. The receiver is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via a telephone line within the customer""s home or another premises occupied by the customer. The monitoring station includes a means for receiving telephone calls (such as a telephone) and one or more human operators.
In the event of an emergency, the Companion Service(copyright) customer depresses one of the transmitter buttons and thus causes the transmitter to transmit a signal to the receiver. Upon receiving a signal from the transmitter, the receiver utilizes the PSTN to complete a telephone call to the monitoring station. Various equipment or a human operator at the monitoring station use the incoming telephone call to identify both the person assigned to the originating transmitter and the location from which the transmitter signal originated. The human operator then dials 911 and summons medical personnel to the customer""s location.
One of the drawbacks of the Companion Service(copyright) is that the service only notifies one entity of the emergency situation. Many emergency situations require notifying more than one party or entity. As mentioned above with reference to the scenario where the computer system crashes, the following people may need to be notified: a software technician, a supervisor, and other co-workers.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing intelligent paging services. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a server receives a paging request from a customer. The page request may be, for example, a telephone call initiated by the customer from a telephone. The server then determines the identity of the customer who initiated the page request and (if necessary) the condition which prompted the identified customer to initiate the page request. The identity and condition information is then used to identify a predetermined list of one or more parties who should be contacted on behalf of the customer and how they should be contacted. Examples of the contact methods the server may execute include making a telephone call to a designated number via a public switched telephone network (PSTN), sending a page to a designated pager via the PSTN, and/or sending an electronic mail (e-mail) message to an Internet Protocol (IP) addressable device via an IP network.
In view of the above, it can be appreciated that there is a need for a method and apparatus which solves the above described problems.